“It’s time to end this.”

The man chuckled wildly to himself, muttering over and over again.

“Finally, finally. At last!”

His voice rang out, full of euphoria, yet his shoulders trembled uncontrollably.

Time seemed to still, and then the events sped up uncontrollably like a broken dam.

Even the man, who wished for the arrival of the ancient deity responsible for these happenings, was overwhelmed by the rapid turn of events.

Had Aria not been so easily captured, the man would have been more cunning and far more sinister in his actions.

And he would have had more time to prepare for this important ritual.

“I must prepare quickly. Right now, today!”

But as the final offering was unexpectedly ready, the man had not finished preparing the ritual.

Not even the penultimate offering had been handled yet.

Thump, thump, thump.

As the man, his eyes halfrolled back in his head, was preparing the tools for the ritual,

Three figures lay sprawled out as if dead in the dark room with its firmly shut door.

Two were huddled together, while the third was a few steps away.

How long had the damp air been clinging to their cheeks?

“Uh… hmm.”

With a faint groan, the eyelids of the isolated figure twitched.

“Ugh.”

Aria, who groaned in pain as she regained consciousness and struggled to open her eyes, quickly closed them against the spinning room.

Aria, drawing in a short breath, took a quick sidelong glance at her surroundings.

Dark and unfamiliar room. Stuffy air. And…

Clink.

Even her hands and feet were bound.

She had faintly noticed it before she blacked out, but she had indeed been kidnapped.

“Hoo.”

Aria calmly assessed her situation and surroundings.

She is a ‘Taren’.

It would naturally be ingrained in her from a young age how to respond in dangerous situations.

Therefore, she didn’t cry out or thrash around but waited for her kidnapper to appear.

Unwillingly though, it had to be that man. The one she had last encountered…

One, two, and then three.

How long had she been silently counting?

Creak.

With the creaking sound of the door hinge that grated on her nerves, the damp air in the room started to flow out.

Along with the dim light, the man entered the room.

As expected, it was indeed him.

Who would have thought this diligent young man, so dependable even in these turbulent times, was actually a kidnapper?

Aria recalled the man’s previous ramblings.

Had her troubles not been resolved after all?

Aria asked the question calmly, moving very slowly so as not to provoke the kidnapper.

“Why would you do such a thing? If you’re having trouble, you could have told me…”

Knowing the perpetrator’s motive would help her deal with the situation.

However, the man’s response had Aria blinking rapidly in surprise.

“Why? It’s naturally for the deity.”

The man’s answer was not only different from what she had expected, but something she could never have imagined.

In contrast to Aria, who had closed her mouth, the man wildly waved his arms, exclaiming,

“Rejoice! Honor it! For you will be the final offering!”

The man who shouted in a voice boiling with ecstasy pointed his finger at the mother and daughter.

“Of course, we have to offer these sacrifices first, so you’ll have to wait a bit.”

Laughing wildly, the man pointed at the mother and daughter, who looked resigned, their eyes as lifeless as dead fish.

Only then did Aria realize there were other victims in this place, but knowing that changed nothing.

The man continued to brag unabashedly about his unsolicited story.

“They would rather be this way. Their lives are no different from hell, so being purified as offerings to the deity would be better for them.”

What nonsense.

Even if the mother and daughter wished to die, they wouldn’t welcome ending their lives in such a manner at the hands of this man.

After all, they had complied with the man’s orders to survive.

In the end, the man’s words were nothing more than sophistry for his own convenience and benefit.

“All the offerings I’ve purified so far have closed their eyes in gratitude.”

Laughing until his eyes showed white, the man suddenly stopped laughing and swiftly turned to leave.

Thud, drag, squeak.

Not much later, the man returned, dragging a large box, which he promptly opened.

“This is the first… ”

The ragged doll, a relic of the daughter of the man he used to work with at the market, a woman whose name he didn’t know’s ring, a piece of cloth ripped from an old man, a nearly wornout fingernail, hair matted with blood, and so on.

He pulled out all these items that had been offered as sacrifices as if he were boasting, and chattered on about his own story.

“All of them have been purified through me.”

Anbuh stared blankly at the items he was pulling out one by one and telling stories about, blinking slowly.

Why was he so happy… To treat the relics of those who had become famous in his hands like trophies.